appropriate sacrifices
by perfectlyrose
Summary: Rose is rescued by a very familiar stranger whilst dimension hopping. (Eight/Rose)


Rose was on alert as soon as she finished materializing and caught sight of the green sky. She'd been expecting Earth, not an entirely new planet. Once she'd ascertained that the immediate area posed no threat she gazed up at the unfamiliar sky and let the familiar fizz of excitement run through her veins.

Oh she'd _missed_ this. New planets, new adventures, all she was missing was the Doctor.

Cautiously, Rose started over the hill to her right, wanting a higher vantage point to survey the area from. She was almost to the summit when she tripped over a hidden wire and went sprawling, hitting her head on the way down.

The last thing she saw before everything went black was a flash of movement that seemed to be orange.

The first thing she noticed when she came to was the smell of smoke. The next was the heat.

Rose's eyes flew open and she was greeted with the sight of a twenty foot tall bonfire much too close for comfort. She tried to scramble back, only to discover she was bound hand in foot.

With difficulty, she turned over and saw a village worth's of orange aliens dancing about ten meters away.

"They're not a huge fan of humanoids on this planet," a voice said from her right. "Well, depends on how you see it. Humanoids are considered the only suitable sacrifice to their gods so, really we're highly esteemed."

"Still planning on killing us, though, yeah?" Rose asked, wiggling to try and face her chatty companion.

"Yes. Fancy getting out of here?" The man with the smooth voice asked.

Rose finally got turned enough to see him and was unsurprised to find his face matched his voice well. Both were extremely compelling and attractive and she wasn't even going to let herself think of the parallel between his odd choice of velvet outerwear and the way his voice was akin to an audible caress.

"Think I do, thanks. Have better things planned than getting roasted," she answered with a smile, trying to brush aside her errant thoughts. "How do you plan on escaping? My ropes are pretty tight."

"I've got an ace up my sleeve," the man confided with a wink. "Or, well, not an ace but something much more useful."

Rose suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. It was practically like being on an adventure with the Doctor. After all, she had been captured on a new planet and was planning an escape and to run for her life with an attractive bloke who could talk for the planet. Just like old times.

She could practically hear the whir of the sonic, even.

No. Wait. She wasn't imagining that one, she really _could_ hear the sonic.

Her eyes snapped to the man beside her who was looking up in concentration as he flexed his wrists behind him. A few moments later he pulled his hands free with a look of satisfaction.

Rose couldn't stop staring at the sonic screwdriver in his hand. It was a different model than the one she was used to but unmistakable all the same.

"One second, my dear, and I'll come take care of your ropes and we can both be on our way."

Rose's mind was whirling. He obviously didn't know her so she had to assume that this was a younger Doctor than the one she knew. What was the protocol in situations like this? Was she supposed to introduce herself? Let him know that she knew who he was?

Choosing to err on the side of caution for the time being, Rose just kept her mouth shut. Within a minute and a half, Rose's bindings were undone and the Doctor was helping her to her feet.

He was opening his mouth to say something when a shout went up from the villagers. They'd been spotted. Rose grabbed his hand.

"Run," she whispered before taking off towards the hills, the Doctor in tow.

By the time they stopped, Rose was giggling madly. This was all completely mental and she loved it.

"May I ask what's so funny?" The Doctor asked, looking a little perturbed and a lot intrigued.

"You may but I'm not going to tell you," Rose answered. "Thanks for the rescue, but I think this is where we part ways."

He peered at her, blue eyes probing and inquisitive. "You are most curious."

"Been told that," Rose said with a laugh as she started backing away. She shot the Doctor her tongue-in-teeth smile, the one she hadn't used but rarely since she'd been torn away from his future self, and turned away from him.

"Wait!" he called. "Who are you?"

His own original answer to that question swam through her mind and for a moment she felt it, the turn of the planet beneath her feet and her fingers itched to reach for the Doctor's hand again.

She took a deep breath and turned around to face him. The wind whipped her hair across her face as she gave him a tender smile. "Just someone who misses you very much, Doctor." He jolted at her use of his name and her smile grew sad. "Now forget me. Go home."

Rose echoed his words to her from so long ago and then turned and walked away, ignoring his shouts for her to wait even though they tore at her heart. She had to go forward, had to find her Doctor no matter how much she'd like to stay and get to know his younger self.

The Doctor scrambled over the hill that his mysterious companion had disappeared behind just in time to see her vanish in a flash of blue light. He stared at the spot for a solid minute trying to make sense of everything she'd said.

He was jolted out of his reverie by the sounds of the approaching villagers. He took off towards his TARDIS but as soon as he was safely in the Vortex his mind turned back to her, back to his blonde mystery woman.

He smiled at the time rotor. "Looks like we have a an interesting future ahead of us, old girl. Especially if that woman is part of it."

The TARDIS hummed excitedly, knowing that her wolf was on her way home to the version of her pilot that needed here so badly and that the events had been set in motion that would eventually lead to their meeting in a shop basement in London. The Doctor would go through much before then and he'd forget all about his blonde mystery woman but the spark of hope and curiosity she'd ignited in him would see him through everything.

For now, though, she hummed in tune with her pilot's laughter as he sent them spinning through the Vortex and towards another adventure.


End file.
